On the surface, Little People, Big World patriarch Matt Roloff appears relatively harmless.
From his cheery social media posts to his claims that all is hunky dory with his ex-wife,
Amy Roloff, the TLC star is constantly assuring fans of his kind-hearted nature.
But is Matt as squeaky clean as he'd like people to believe?
From his checkered past, to maybe taking credit for Amy's pumpkin salsa, even the most devoted
fans are probably wondering what else Matt is hiding.
Here's the shady side of Matt Roloff.
Matt's troubled past
Before he made his debut on the show in 2006, Matt suffered from a myriad of troubling issues.
He was even addicted to cocaine in the '80s, an experience he detailed in his 1999 memoir,
Against Tall Odds: Being a David in a Goliath World.
He wrote in the book,
"I never thought I'd be someone who used drugs, but it happened.
I thought I could just try it and get out of it, but I was wrong."
Matt overcome the addiction with the help of his family, but he may have turned to alcohol
a few decades later.
He was arrested in June 2007 for a DUI, but was later found not guilty.
His rumored affair
Fans were shocked to learn about Matt's relationship with his longtime personal assistant, Caryn
Chandler, just three years after his messy split from Amy.
Some people described the timing as suspicious, and some alleged that Matt and Caryn had an
affair right under Amy's nose.
Although Matt and Chandler haven't addressed the rumored affair directly, there's evidence
to suggest their union caused some tension.
Amy confessed,
"Caryn has been Matt's personal assistant.
Now that they're dating, of course that's hurtful."
Adding to the suspicion, is that back in 2012, Chandler's ex-husband, Joseph Chandler, forbid
the couple's then-teenaged children from visiting Roloff Farms, according to Radar Online.
Who's salsa is it?
In May 2018, Matt was accused by fans of doing the unthinkable: taking credit for Amy's pumpkin
salsa idea.
It all started when Matt took to Instagram to brag about Roloff Farms' pumpkin salsa
line and its desirable placement in stores.
The problem?
According to Us Weekly, Matt wrote-off Amy's pumpkin salsa idea way before it became a
fan favorite.
Although it's shady Matt waited to praise the salsa only when it became popular, he
does own a stake in the family business.
An absent father?
Although Matt leads people to believe he's close with all of his children, this might
not be the case with his youngest son, Jacob.
According to his book, Out To See, Jacob praised the Roloff family's late friend, Mike, but
didn't say much about Matt.
He wrote,
"I appreciate Mike's influence on me a lot.
[…] He would get me reading Popular Mechanics and Popular Science […] I expanded my mind
and learned new words from the writing inside those magazines."
Matt, on the other hand, only made it into two sentences in the book.
Jacob wrote,
"My dad taught me practical, mindful things like chess, how to build a fire.
[…] He was also a great storyteller, sitting all of us kids by the fire […]"
Stirring up the drama
Sadly, Matt occasionally uses his kids to get under Amy's skin.
In 2017, Matt supposedly let Chandler exclude Amy from his 56th birthday party - at Roloff
Farms, where Amy lives and works.
What made matters worse was that Amy's kids and grandkids were invited, too.
An eyewitness told the Daily Mail,
"The odd thing was that Amy Roloff was on the other side of the barn doing meet and
greets with the general public and wasn't asked by Caryn to participate.
It definitely felt like she was being usurped at her own farm by Matt's new girlfriend."
The especially unfortunate part about the situation is how Matt and Chandler's rumored
pettiness affects the Roloff kids.
The source added,
"The kids seem caught in the middle.
This was baby Jackson's first day at the farm during pumpkin season, it was kind of a big
deal and Amy was shut out."
He's never at fault
Apparently, Matt isn't happy with producers on the show who are supposedly hellbent on
making the story appear "negative."
Matt felt compelled to speak out after a disgruntled fan posted on Facebook:
"Used to love this show and watched every season from the beginning, but there's too
much stress and tension involved - makes it unpleasant to watch anymore."
Matt then passed the blame, replying,
"I totally agree.
[…] For some reason, these new producers/editors that come in to work…don't know the show
and want to amplify the negative […]"
While it's possible producers splice the footage to highlight the drama, it's unlikely the
discord is entirely fabricated.
It seems Matt is working hard at "producing" his brand just like the show is producing
the drama.